Wulnoth The Wanderer by Herbert EscottInman

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Title: Wulnoth the Wanderer
A Story of King Alfred of England

Author: Herbert Escott-Inman

Illustrator: Troy Kinney
Margaret West Kinney

Release Date: July 18, 2014 [EBook #46320]

Language: English

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WULNOTH THE WANDERER

decoration

STORIES OF VIKING DAYS

Illustrated and Decorated by the Kinneys

The Thrall of Leif the Lucky. By Ottilie A. Liljencrantz. Six pictures in full color. Eighth Edition.

The Ward of King Canute. By Ottilie A. Liljencrantz. Six pictures in full color. Third Edition.

For the White Christ. By Robert Ames Bennet. Four pictures in full color.

Each volume beautifully printed and bound, $1.50

A. C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers

Frontispiece

"And it was peace time in their souls, and the Princess
Edgiva lifted her face to Wulnoth and smiled, and her eyes
spoke words that her lips uttered not." [Page 154.]

title_page

Wulnoth

The Wanderer

A Story of

King Alfred of England

BY

H. Escott-Inman

With decorations and frontispiece
by Troy & Margaret West Kinney

Chicago

A. C. McClurg & Co.

1908

Copyright

A. C. McClurg & Co.

1908

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, Eng.

Published October 17, 1908

The University Press, Cambridge, U.S.A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
PAGE

I How Wyborga the Wise spoke with King Hardacnute
1

II How Wulnoth saved Edgiva from the Bear
12

III How Wulnoth journeyed by the Birds' Road
27

IV The Coming of Hungwar and Hubba
39

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V Of Wulnoth's Schooling
53

VI Of Wulnoth's Strange Wrestling in the Place of Desolation
64

VII Of the Coming of Wulnoth to the Danish Sea-kings
75

VIII Of what befell Wulnoth in the Halls of the Danes
87

IX How the Sea-kings sailed for East Anglia
98

X Of the Slaying of Edmund, the King of the East Saxons
111

XI How Wulnoth met with Wyborga again
124

XII How Wulnoth and Wahrmund visited the Christian Church
136

XIII Of how Wulnoth met with Edgiva again
147

XIV How Wahrmund the Dane gave his Life for Wulnoth
159

XV How Wulnoth came to Alfred
170

XVI How the Men of Wessex fought the Danes
183

XVII The Passing of Ethelred the King
195

XVIII Of the Coming back of Guthrun
203

XIX Of the Capturing of the Raven Banner
214

XX Of the Hunting of the Ring
226

XXI Of the Gleeman who visited the Danish Camp
237

XXII The Battle of Ethandune
248

XXIII How Hungwar was slain, and the Danes became Christians
260

XXIV How Wulnoth met with Guthred again
271

XXV The Crowning of Guthred
285

XXVI Of the Wedding of Wulnoth and Edgiva
296

XXVII Skoal!
306

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FOREWORD

he song of Wulnoth, the born thrall, who was called the Wanderer; the song of the nameless and the landless man who
aided two kings to gain kingdoms.
"The song of his friendship for Guthred the prince; the song of his wanderings to find his friend. The song of his perils
and warrings, and of his slaying of Hungwar the Dane. The song of his friendship with Alfred the Bretwalda of the West
Saxons, and of his love for Edgiva the Beautiful. The song of his turning to the Life Giver; the song of his last fight with
Jarl Eric, on the field of the great slaughter. This is the song.
"And this song did Gyso the Gleeman sing by command of Edward the King, the son of Alfred, that the name and the
deeds of Wulnoth might not perish, but be remembered by all men."

CHAPTER I

How Wyborga the Wise spoke with King Hardacnute

ar across the dark sea which rolls its waters to the northeast of this England of ours, there rise the dark cliffs and
frowning heights of Norway's shores; and there, in the days of old, lived Hardacnute the King.
Far inland did his lands extend, fair with many a fertile field where broad streams flowed, and grim with snow-clad
peaks, from which the torrents roared and foamed their way down to the sea.
On the cliff-top his castle was built, and around, on many a height, could be seen the halls of jarl and lord, each mighty

in war, and each owning Hardacnute as master and overlord.
By night and by day did the warders guard his towers; by night and by day were his long ships ready to put to sea; by
night and by day did a hundred shields gleam in his halls, and a hundred spears rest beside them; and by night and by
day were there a hundred strong hands ready to grasp the one or to prise the other. For across the dark waves was the
way of the sea-kings, and no man could say when their long ships might come sailing from Denmark or Juteland to carry
fire and sword along the coast.
Well it became the King to be watchful; and for his watchfulness was there now peace in the land.
A great flaxen-haired man was this King, whose blue eyes could gleam with anger or sparkle with merriment; terrible
was he in battle, and yet mild in the hall, and dearly did he love Wulfreda his fair wife, and little Guthred his son, who
played in the great courtyard with a tiny shield and spear, which Hald the Constable had fashioned for him.
Blue-eyed and golden-haired was Guthred, with more of his mother's gentle nature than of his father's strong passion,
so that Hardacnute frowned sometimes, and said that the boy was too timid, and that he feared pain; but old Hald
would laugh and answer—
"Let be, O King; the tender shoot hath not the rough bark of the old tree. Let be. Guthred will prove a brave holda yet."
Now, some way from the King's castle there dwelt a wise woman, one who knew many things that other people could
not understand, yet one who used her power well, and did not seek to cast spells upon man or beast; and it chanced
that one day this wise woman came along the road by the castle as the King came riding home from the hunting, with his
dogs leaping and the slain bear carried between two sturdy carls. Some of the dogs were fierce, but they tried not to
harm old Wyborga; and the King saw, as he rode past on his great horse, that she looked pale and weary, as if from a
journey.
So the King called to one of his followers to light from his steed, and he bade Wyborga ride with him to the castle; and
he took her to the hall and treated her with honor, and gave her food and sweet mead, for King Hardacnute was ever
kind to the old and the young, and to women.
And while Wyborga sat at meat, little Guthred came and played at her side, and laughed up into her face, and the wise
woman placed one hand on his fair head and looked into his eyes and sighed, so that the King said—
"Why do you sigh, O mother, when you look into the eyes of this my son?"
"Because of what I see there, O King," answered the wise woman. And the King asked again—
"And what is it that you see, O mother?"
"A long journey to a far land, for a kingdom," answered Wyborga; and at that the King laughed heartily.
"Why, truly, mother, that is but a little thing, for the sea is the road of the sea-kings; and though Guthred will be king in
my place when I have passed to the storm land, yet it may well be that he will carry fire and sword across the sea, and
conquer other lands."
"Not fire nor sword will Guthred carry across the sea, O King," she answered, "nor will he reign as king here in thy
stead, though he shall be king of a greater realm than thine. The thrall collar shall he wear, and the thrall's part shall he
play, yet shall he become a king in his day, and a thrall shall help him to his kingdom."
Now, at that the King paused and pondered, and his brow was troubled, but he said at last—
"Thy riddle is too hard for me, mother, and it seems dark with evil, for how shall my son become a thrall?"
"Thrall makers ride the sea, O King," she answered. And the King said—
"Yet where shall the King be when they come, O mother?" And again she made reply—
"The sword has a death-song for each in turn, O King."
"Now truly, mother," cried the King, "this is a hard thing you say to me, after you have eaten at my table. Evil did I do
to bring you here as my guest."
"Not evil, O King," Wyborga answered, "but good. And now listen to my words, O King. This thing will not be yet,
and before it comes, over the Westarweg shall come wanderers seeking food and shelter. Be they poor or be they rich,
high or low, let thy hand be to them, King, for of their number one will be the friend of Guthred the Prince. A thrall shall
take the thraldom from the Prince, and that a thrall who shall mate with a king's daughter; and now—I go in peace, and
thanks for thy kindness."
So Wyborga went her way, and the King pondered and was troubled. Much that she had said he could not understand,
but this one thing seemed clear: the wise woman had foretold that foes would come and slay him and carry his little son
away into captivity, and that seemed heavy tidings to King Hardacnute. Therefore he called in all his servants, and had
great stores of food prepared for siege, and night and day kept watch and ward for the foe who should come across
Westarweg, as they called the dark sea.
But no foes came; not a single dark sail appeared, not a single shield shone over the waves to catch the gleams of the
sun; and at last the King laughed away his fears, and said that surely Wyborga the Wise must have lost her wisdom.
But in that the King was wrong, for had not Wyborga said that this would not be yet, and that ere the foe arrived

wanderers would come seeking shelter and succor? King Hardacnute had forgotten that part of the prophecy.
But when the summer waned and the sea grew wild with the winter gales, when the ice came down from the North, to
gleam ghost-like as it slowly floated by, when even the bravest of the sea-kings would have trembled to launch his stout
ships—then, one day, as the pale sun died away and the fierce tempests sprang up, the warder came to say that out on
the sea a ship of some sort was to be seen; and at that all men ran to their posts, for perchance this might be the enemy
that the wise woman had foretold.
But when the King reached the castle walls and gazed out into the storm wrack, there, beating and buffeted and sore
tried, he saw one poor boat, such as the fisher folk use, drifting almost at the mercy of the tempest, and yet seeking to
make its way to the shelter of Lethra Fiord.
"Now who can these be?" cried the King. "What madman would put to sea in such a craft on such a night?" But to that
old Hald answered—
"Not all who put to sea do so willingly, O King. These are some poor castaways; and it minds me that the wise woman
foretold the coming of some such. So I will get me down to the water with some stout hearts, and render them what aid
I may."
Then the King gave permission, and Hald and his men went down and launched one of the King's ships to the storm,
and with straining oars and slanting sail they came round and rendered help to the storm-beaten ones, and got them
safely back, and carried them into King Hardacnute's hall and set them in his presence, so that he might see them for
himself.
And the King stared, and perchance he frowned a little, for it seemed a foolish thing to endanger his stout hearts to
rescue these travellers, seeing that they were but three, and poorly dressed like carls, and, moreover, two of them wore
the collars of thralls.
There was a man, big and stalwart, with bold defiant eyes, and erect head, and he had a thrall collar; and there was a
woman, fair and timid; and between them they held a child, a boy of about the young Prince's age, but more stalwart
and well-knit, and he also had around his little neck the badge of slavery.
The three stood there waiting for the King to speak, and yet for the moment the King made no sound, for he gazed
upon that child. A bold daring child he seemed. Tender of years though he was, his eyes were blue as the bluest
summer sky, and his long hair shone yellow gold, as though the sun had kissed it; and the King looked and wondered,
and thought that he had never seen so fair a child, no, not even when he looked at his own little son, Prince Guthred.
And while he sat looking, the Prince himself ran into the hall brandishing his tiny spear and shield, and seeing a little one
of his own age, he ran to him, flourishing his baby weapons.
But the little stranger did not flinch; though the spear-head grazed his arm, he only smiled. And then Guthred slipped
and fell, and his shield and spear went flying across the hall, so that the little stranger ran and gathered them up and then
aided the Prince, and gave him his weapons back and stood beside him, his arm round the other's neck, as though he
were holda and noble, and not a churl's child. Thereat the King frowned, and then he turned to the man and spoke and
asked him whence he came, and who he was, and how came he to be in the boat, with woman and child, on such a
stormy day?
"Wast thou washed away against thy will?" he asked, "and dost thou desire to be safely sent back to thy lord?" And at
that the face of the man darkened, and the woman began to weep, while the child seized the baby spear, and cried so
that even the King heard his shrill voice—
"My father, better this than to go back now."
"Now," said the King, "truly we have a young wolf cub here. Tell me your story, friend, that I may learn that from which
you flee, and why this child, who is little more than a babe, talks so largely of choosing the kiss of the spear before
return to that place from whence ye came. Methinks this means that we have thralls who have fled from their thraldom."
And then the man stepped forward, and he spoke, and his voice sounded strong and clear; nor, though he was in the
presence of the King, did he show any fear.
"Truly, O King, this child speaks well," he said; "for there is no going back for us. And, truly, as thou sayest, we are
thralls, and thralls who have fled from thraldom, seeing that is worse than death. Know, O King, that I am Cerdic, the
son of Elchere; and this woman is Olfa, and this child is our son Wulnoth—"
"Thou art Saxon, then, if thy name speaks truly," said the King. "How comes one of the name of the noble Cerdic to
wear a thrall's collar?"
"This is the matter of it, O King," Cerdic answered. "Of the blood of Cerdic am I; yet, as thou perchance knowest, the
sons of Cerdic sailed across the Westarweg to the land of East Anglia, leaving Tholk to rule in the place where they
were born. Yet Tholk was unworthy, and made a league with Berwulf the Viking; whereat I and others rebelled, and
were therefore made landless and nameless, and the thrall collars were placed upon us. Yet this I might have abided,
though the blood of jarls was in my veins; but this Berwulf broke his treaty, and put Tholk to death and made himself
lord in his place; and because I would not own him he had me beaten with rods, and would have had me slain but that I
burst my bonds and struck him down with his own axe; and then, escaping, made to the sea with my wife and my son.
For it was better to trust to the fury of the winter storms than to abide the cruel wrath of Viking Berwulf. For six long

days and nights have we battled with the tempests, while the storm sisters have ridden around us; and then we sighted
thy walls, O King. And, now that we are here, either slay us or send us on our way if thou canst not keep us here; but
send us not back to Berwulf, who, methinks, would be as much thy foe as mine."
Then did King Hardacnute swear a mighty oath by Thor's hammer that no harm should come to Cerdic or his while he
bided in Lethra.
"These Danish pirates," he cried, "are foes to all honest men, and each should help the other against them. Bide thou
here in safety, Cerdic, son of Elchere, thou and thine, and no harm shall come to thee. But as for thy thrall collar, it was
put on by thy lord because thou didst rebel against him; and it is not meet that I should take it off until thou hast proved
thyself in the man's game, making the sword sing the death song in the ears of thy foes."
"That will I do when the time comes, O King," answered Cerdic. "For the rest, I am content, and my service is thine."
"Thou shalt have house and a piece of land," said the King, "and my Stallere shall allow thee grazing; and as for thy little
son—"
But then a little voice spoke, and Prince Guthred ran to his father's side, crying—
"Wulnoth must stay with me, O father. Wulnoth must stay and be my playmate." And at that the King laughed and said
that it should be so.
So this is how little Wulnoth, the child of a fugitive and a thrall, and himself wearing a thrall collar, came to dwell in the
King's hall and to play with Guthred the Prince; and though some of the jarls and warriors frowned and said that this
thing should not be, the King took little heed; and the Queen smiled on the boy who played with her own son, and the
two lads were happy together.
And all this time there was peace in the land, and no sign of the viking lords coming with fire and sword; and all this time
did the King have watch and ward kept.
But sometimes, as he stood on his tower and looked over the long, rolling waves of the Westarweg, he would think of
the words of Wyborga, and wonder within himself whether they would ever come true.
Now, this is how Wyborga the Wise prophesied evil tidings to the King; and this is how Cerdic, and Olfa his wife, and
Wulnoth their son, came from the storm-sea to dwell in the King's land.

CHAPTER II

How Wulnoth saved Edgiva from the Bear

o Cerdic the Saxon took service with the King of Lethra; and the King gave him a cottage and a piece of land, where
he lived with Olfa his wife. But Wulnoth his son was most of his time up in the King's hall playing with the little Prince
Guthred; and, though some of the nobles frowned, a great friendship sprang up between the two children, so that they
called each other brother, and each shared the other's joys and sorrows; and it was hard to say whether Guthred was
most happy when he was with Wulnoth in Cerdic's cottage, or Wulnoth, when he was in the King's courtyard with the
Prince.
And three years passed away with their sun and their snow, and still it was peace in the land, and the vikings did not
appear. For some had gone to Angle Land, where there were fertile fields to be seized; and some had followed the
mighty Hrolf—who was called The Walker, because he was so heavy that no horse could bear his weight—into
Normandy to war against Charles the Simple; and others, again, had journeyed over the mighty river and the snow-clad
mountains to carry fire and sword into the provinces of the Romans.
And in those three years the two boys grew strong and sturdy, and now they were each fourteen years old; yet still
Wulnoth was the stronger.
If Guthred could run swiftly, Wulnoth could beat him. If Guthred could wrestle with any son of the jarls, Wulnoth could
throw Guthred. If Guthred could send an arrow to the mark, Wulnoth could split the Prince's shaft from feather to head;
so that the King said that the wolf cub would grow into a fine wolf one of these days and do great deeds in the land.
And though Wulnoth could best the Prince in most things, there was neither jealousy nor quarrellings; but the two boys
loved like brothers, though Wulnoth never forgot that he was but a thrall's son, and wore thrall collar. The Prince would
forget that, but Wulnoth never did, and he ever spoke of his companion as "my friend and Prince."
Now, you must know that about the time that Cerdic had first come to Lethra, the little Princess Edgiva was born; so
that now she was three years old; and throughout all the land, yea, and throughout all wide Norway, there was not
another child so beautiful as Edgiva, the daughter of Hardacnute.
Her skin was like the pink blush of the morning sky, or the tender leaf of the rose-bud; her teeth were like the purest
pearls, and her eyes blue as the rarest sapphire; while, as for her hair, never spider spun thread so fine, never gold
gleamed and played in the sunlight so brightly, and never down of the thistle, or wool of the sheep, was so soft.
The scalds sang songs in her praise, and said that when she grew up she would be the fairest woman in all the world, fit

to become bride of the mightiest of kings.
And a dear, sweet, loving child she was, with a smile for all and a frown for none, except those who did wrong; and of
all in Lethra she smiled most upon the little thrall-boy, Wulnoth; and Wulnoth was never so happy, no, not even when
playing with Guthred, as when he was sitting watching Edgiva.
It was his strong brown hand that first held her as she tried to walk; and when they bought a little pony for her, it was
Wulnoth who walked by her side and held the bridle, lest the creature should rear and throw his precious burden.
And at this some of the lords were more angry than ever; for they said it was a high honor for any lad to attend Princess
Edgiva, and that their sons should come before a mere churl. And perchance the King would have listened to their
speech, but that Wulfreda, the Queen, said their daughter liked the boy, and that it was a princess's right to choose her
own servant; while as for old Hald the Constable, he laughed until the tears came into his fierce eyes, and he cried—
"By Odin! but some people are ever jealous, let what may happen. The boy is right, O King; and he has the thews of a
young viking and the heart of a hero; and there is no peril would touch Edgiva while Wulnoth stood unwounded."
Hald, old and renowned as he was, had a big heart, and he did not forget that though he was noble and jarl now, his
own father had been a churl until the day of his death.
So, despite frowns and grumblings, Wulnoth walked by the side of the Princess; and he and Guthred called themselves
her knights, and waited upon her pleasure and delighted to do her bidding.
Now, all this time nothing had been seen of Wyborga the wise woman; for she had been a journey to places afar, as
was her custom at certain seasons, despite her age; and the King had forgotten all about her dark sayings, or, if ever he
remembered them, it was but as the idle tale of a poor old crone, whose wits had gone with the years that were fled.
King Hardacnute ruled wisely and well, and was at peace with his neighbors, and the land was happy.
Only sometimes Hald and other old warriors would shake their heads when they took counsel together, and they would
say—
"The times are too easy, and the people are too slow. They forget the hardships of war-time, and if the sword came into
the land again, it would go hard with us."
Well, one summer's day, when the fields were bright with flowers and the corn grew high, almost ready for the reaping,
and when the kine stood knee deep in the long grass in the valleys, Prince Guthred and Wulnoth set out for a long
ramble, and between them, on her little pony, Edgiva rode, a garland of white blossoms, which Wulnoth had fashioned,
upon her beautiful hair.
All the world seemed bright and beautiful: the sun shone, and the birds sang, and the brooks rippled, and all seemed to
say to them—"Waes heal to you, little travellers—waes heal to the three fair ones." The squirrels played in the
branches, and the sea-birds screamed as they passed overhead, and the great, lazy pigs grunted as they rolled in the
woodland shade, and all seemed to say—"Waes heal to the three fair ones."
So they went through the meadow-land; and they went through the woodland glade, where the great ferns spring up
and the good people hide from men's eyes all the day long, waiting for the gloaming, to creep out and dance their fairy
dances; and yet, though they looked carefully and peered into many a tiny glen and sat without the least sound for quite
ten minutes, never one of the good people could they see, but only the rabbits and the wild birds, and the little darting
lizards.
And presently they came to a dell, and there they sat and ate their cakes, which they had brought with them, and drank
from the skin of milk, which Wulnoth had brought especially for Edgiva—for he and the Prince would have had the cool
water from the brook, only the Princess insisted that they three, who were friends, should share all things equally.
And while they sat there, a stick cracked in the woods, and Wulnoth started up, ready to guard the Princess if need be:
for if a stick cracked some foot must have pressed it.
But no foe, either man or beast, came into the glade, but only an old woman with gentle face and kindly eyes, and hair
white as the snow from the north; and this woman said, as she surveyed the children—
"Greeting to you, little ones. All good greeting to you." And they answered her—
"All good greeting to you also, good mother."
"And who are you, and how are you called?" asked the woman; "and how is it that a prince and princess have a thrall
for their playmate?"
Then the Prince looked angry, for he did not like people to speak so to his dear Wulnoth; and even little Edgiva looked
pained. But Wulnoth only laughed, and he made reply—
"Good mother, the great and high, if they are good and true, may hold out hand to the poor and gain no dishonor
thereby. And those who are lowly born may take such friendship, and yet no harm be done; and so it is in this case."
"Thou hast answered well and truly, Wulnoth, son of Cerdic," the woman said; and at that Wulnoth stared, and
demanded how she knew his name.
"I know many things," answered the woman, who was really old Wyborga returning from her travels to her own house.
"I know many things, and this is one of them—many wonderful things."

"Tell us some more of thy wonderful things, good mother," pleaded the little Princess. "Tell us, for we are fond of
wonder tales."
"Not now, little Princess," answered the wise woman; "go on with your play. And you, little Prince, when you get back
home, say to your father the King that Wyborga sends him greeting, and says that the time draws nigh."
"What time, good mother?" asked Guthred curiously; but Wyborga shook her head.
"A dark time, little Prince, for thee and for thine, of which thou mayst not know now. But remember when sorrow and
tears come, as come they will, that manhood and honor are better than a throne. Remember that a prince's word, and
the word of every true man, must be kept, though death be the price of the keeping. Prince Guthred, remember this."
"Now truly, good mother," cried Wulnoth, "you do speak very hard things; and, truly, methinks you had little need to
ask our names, seeing that without being told you have mentioned them all to us." And at that Wyborga smiled again.
But then little Edgiva drew close to her, and she again asked her of her wonder stories.
"Cannot you tell us even one?" she said; "not one about Odin or Thor and the heroes who dwell in Walhalla? For these
are the most wonderful stories of all."
"Not the most wonderful, nor the most beautiful of all, little Princess," was the answer. "I know of one far better, far
more wonderful, and far more beautiful." And at this they all three asked eagerly what this wonderful story could be.
"Oh, so wonderful and so beautiful," answered Wyborga. "The hearing of it turns sorrow to joy, and makes darkness
become light, and weakness turn into strength. But you may not hear it yet; for, if I told it to you, you would not
understand it. Yet this I promise, that one day you all three shall hear it."
"And will sorrow become joy, and weakness strength, and darkness light, when we hear it?" cried Wulnoth. And
Wyborga nodded and said: "It will indeed."
"But when and where shall we hear it?" the children asked. "Shall we come to you again?"
"Nay," answered the wise woman; "you will hear it from other lips, and in another land."
"But what shall be the sign that we shall hear it?" asked the Prince, "and how shall we know that it is the story when it is
told?"
"Because it will turn weakness into strength," said Wulnoth. "We are sure to know then."
"And sorrow into joy, and darkness into light," added Edgiva. "Oh, we shall be sure to know, brother."
"I will give you a sign," the wise woman said. And she took two little pieces of rough wood from the ground, and with a
piece of grass, she bound them together in the form of a cross. Then she plucked a little spray of wild thorn and wound
it round her cross and held it up; and she said, and her voice was soft and sweet, like the sigh of the summer wind
amidst the forest leaves, "This is the sign, dear children. One day you will come to this sign, and then you will hear the
most wonderful and the most beautiful story in all the wide world; and when you hear that, you will never want to hear
of Odin or Thor any more."
Then she turned and walked away, and not another word could they get from her. So they turned to start on their
homeward way, wondering what that strange sign could possibly mean, and what this story could be about.
And as they journeyed on, back through the woodlands, suddenly Edgiva's little pony stopped and planted its forefeet
firmly and laid back its ears, snorting and trembling as if with fear.
"What can be the matter with him?" asked Prince Guthred. "There is nothing to frighten him."
"Be not so sure of that, Prince," said Wulnoth. "The pony may see more than we can; I have heard that animals can see
warlocks and wizards when they are invisible to mortal eyes."
"Then what shall we do for Edgiva?" cried Guthred. "We must not let warlocks harm her."
"Let me get down and pat him," Edgiva said. "I will gather him a handful of sweet grass and then he will go on."
So they helped her to alight; but alas, no sooner had her foot touched the ground than they heard a dreadful sound, a
deep, angry growl of rage and hate; and there, emerging from the undergrowth, with eyes ablaze and with yellow
gleaming fangs, they saw an immense old he bear, a real wood-roamer, a honey-finder, who now was seeking for no
honey.
And the pony, with a snort of terror, started off as fast as it could go, leaving the children alone there, with the monster
approaching them.
For a moment Prince Guthred stood bewildered, and little Edgiva clasped her tiny hands in terror; for, indeed, this
seemed a very dreadful creature, and its size was so vast and its claws so long, and it seemed to be saying to itself as it
came along—
"Ho, ho! Here is a fine meal for me. This is better than risking the swineherd's spear when I go stealing the pigs. Ho, ho!
This is much better."
Of course, the bear did not really say that; but that is what it seemed to the children; so it is no wonder that they were
frightened.

"Run, Guthred! Run! Take Edgiva and run!" screamed Wulnoth frantically. "I will stay here and keep the bear busy."
But even in his terror Prince Guthred remembered that Wulnoth was his friend, and it seemed a hard thing to him to run
away and leave him alone.
But Wulnoth cried again—"Run with thy sister, Prince. Edgiva must be before all."
So Prince Guthred caught up Edgiva in his strong arms and began to run, while Wulnoth threw a stone at the bear to
make him turn his way. But the bear did not turn; perhaps he thought that two children were better than one—but he
commenced to rush after Guthred, with great roars of rage; and Wulnoth ran after the bear, calling him a coward and a
nithing, and bidding him stop and fight; and, as he ran, he unsheathed his stout knife and held it ready. It was the only
weapon he had, and the stoutest hunters might have been forgiven if they had feared to attack such a monster with no
better arms. But Wulnoth did not think of that. Edgiva must be saved, and he and that knife must save her.
And just then Guthred caught his foot in a trailing bramble, and fell, and the bear was now very nigh them. But Wulnoth
was also very near to the bear, running so swiftly that the blades of grass had not even time to bend beneath his weight
before he had passed on, and the gleaming knife was ready in his hand.
Now Wulnoth knew full well that the bear would not harm the others without first rising on his hind legs—for that is the
way in which the bears always attack—and for that he was ready and waiting.
The bear stopped with a clumsy jerk just as Guthred scrambled to his feet, and it opened its great paws wide to seize
the boy. But Wulnoth was there, and he pushed Guthred aside and darted under the bear's paws, and buried his knife in
its broad, hairy chest, once, twice, and yet a third time, swifter than the lightning plays or the adder darts. Then the bear
roared, and strove to bite with its wide-open, slavering jaws, and it dug its long claws deeply into Wulnoth's back, and
tore muscle and flesh to the bone. But that was all it could do. It had no strength left, and it fell on its side and struggled
and died; and Wulnoth uttered a mighty shout of joy, and thought nothing of his painful wounds, for he had done a
man's deed and had saved Edgiva and his friend the Prince.
And Guthred and Edgiva came to him and strove to check the blood that dripped from his hurts, and the Princess
would make him sit while she used her own scarf for this purpose.
"Oh, Wulnoth!" cried Guthred, "surely here is the story already, for weakness has become strength, and you have
conquered the waster while I fled like a nithing."
"Wulnoth has been brave," said Edgiva, "but you have naught to grieve for, dear brother. As for the story, this cannot
be it, for the sign of the thorn and the cross are not here."
"Let us not worry about stories," laughed Wulnoth, and he was as happy as could be. Indeed, his only sorrow was that
Guthred had not slain a bear also, so that they could have been alike. "Let us skin this monster and take his coat home
for the Princess to have a rug for her feet."
So they set to work, the two boys, and though it was a long job, they got the bear's skin, together with its mighty head
and paws; and then they found the pony again, for that was grazing in a field hard by, and they put the skin on its back
and Edgiva on the skin, and set off again.
And when they reached the castle, and the soldiers saw the skin, they clustered round in wonder, asking who had killed
the monster. Wulnoth would have said little, but Guthred said much, and the men caught Wulnoth up and cried, "Skoal"
to him, and carried him into the hall and set him down before the King, and laid the head and the claws and the great
skin on the floor.
And now again Wulnoth would have said little, for he was modest and did not like to boast, and besides, he did not
want to seem braver than the Prince, who would have done as he had done if the chance had been his. But Guthred and
Edgiva stood at the King's side and told of the fight, and made Wulnoth show his wounds, and the King said that
Wulnoth had done a man's deed, and asked him what his reward should be.
Now, the King had expected that the boy would ask that the thrall collar should be taken from his neck and from his
father's, but Wulnoth made no such request.
"O King," he said, "if, as thou sayest, I have done a man's deed, let a man's weapons be given to me now, and let it be
my place to guard Edgiva thy daughter, and to sleep across the threshold at night."
Then, for a moment, the King paused and frowned, for a memory came of the words of Wyborga that a thrall should
marry a king's daughter; and he wondered whether that thrall was to be this boy, and the king's daughter Edgiva; for if
he had thought that, though Wulnoth had slain the bear and preserved the Princess, he would have driven his spear
through him as he stood, and so have made an end of the matter.
Then, when the jarls heard this thrall-boy's words, they cried out that he should be beaten with sticks for his
presumption.
"Shall the son of a churl be made the Princess's guardian?" they cried. "Are there no sons of noble birth in the land, O
King?"
But Wulnoth stood out, and turned and showed them the deep wounds made by the claws of the bear, and he cried—
"Many there be more noble in the land, but are there any who would have dared more? Did the bear wound me more
lightly than he would have wounded any man? Are these wounds less painful to the churl than they would be to the

noble? The King asked me what I desired, and I have answered. I want no other gift, and if this may not be, then let
be."
"He talks like a man," some laughed; but old Hald, who liked the boy, answered—
"And by the hammer of Thor, he acts like one, and I am minded that our Edgiva would have little to fear with Wulnoth
the son of Cerdic as her armed man."
"The thing shall be," answered the King, and when that was said all had to obey. "Wulnoth shall be given sword and
spear and shield, and his shall it be to guard the Princess, and if any harm comes to her, then his head shall pay the
penalty. I have spoken, and the thing is."
So Wulnoth the boy was given the war tools of a man, and he was appointed the guardian of the Princess, which is just
what he had appointed himself in the past, only then he had no weapons save his knife.
But when King Hardacnute heard the message which Wyborga had sent to him, his face grew very grave, for it showed
him that if he had forgotten, the wise woman had remembered, and that the time was drawing near when war time
should be in the land.
And also the children spoke of the wonder tale that Wyborga had hinted at, and of the strange thorn cross which she
had made; and the King listened and answered—
"By Thor, I can make nothing of it! 'T is like her other tale, and it may be that the one has as much in it as the other."
Now, this is how Wulnoth saved Edgiva from the bear, and how he won the man's tools and was appointed watcher
over the Princess. And this is how Wyborga the Wise came again into the land, and showed the three children the sign
of the thorn-crowned cross.

CHAPTER III

How Wulnoth journeyed by the Birds' Road

o Wulnoth became the guard to watch over Princess Edgiva, and some of King Hardacnute's warriors were wroth,
and said that the thing was a shame, and that even if it were not so, a boy like Cerdic's son should not be given such an
honorable task when many a young noble would have been glad to accept such trust.
But though Wulnoth was indeed a boy in years, yet in stature and in strength he was a match for many above his age, so
tall and so lusty was he. And old Hald laughed again when he heard these words, and he said—
"The wolf cub is almost grown; let those beware its fangs who would pull its ears."
And amongst those who were angered at the King's choice was the keeper of the arms, Æthelmar; and he, to spite the
boy, gave him the weapons of the strongest—the heaviest spear and the weightiest sword and shield; and he in his turn
laughed and said to himself—
"Now we shall see how Hald's wolf cub will bear the weight of the toys he has asked for."
Wulnoth knew his weapons were too heavy, but he was too proud to seek to have them altered, and he would have
borne them in patience but that Hald saw him; and the old Constable stopped and stroked his beard, and asked him
who it was who gave him his man's tools.
"Now, these are too weighty for you," he said when Wulnoth had answered him, "and it was but a poor trick of
Æthelmar's to give such to you. You must have lighter ones, my young warrior."
But Wulnoth answered that since he had been given these he would keep them, and even Æthelmar should see that his
strength was equal to his task.
"Not so," said the Constable, quietly, when he heard the boy's words. "That only comes from a proud heart, and the
Princess must not be endangered because of your pride."
"How could the Princess be endangered?" cried Wulnoth. "I do not see that, Hald."
"Weapons that you cannot use are as if you had no weapons at all, Wulnoth," replied Hald. "How, if you had to use that
long spear, which is too clumsy for you, or that sword which is too heavy? The Princess might suffer harm because you
could not well protect her. We must have this remedied, my son."
And Hald was as good as his word, and gave Wulnoth man's tools more suited to his strength, and he said—
"Let not pride make thee fall, Wulnoth. If they laugh at thee for having these, thou canst the better show them thy skill
when the day of testing comes."
At that Wulnoth was content, and though some laughed at him, he answered laugh with laugh, and never bore himself
like a boaster, nor was led to talk of what he could do, but he only answered when such questions were put to him—
"One cannot say what he will do until the test comes. When the hour is, then I hope I shall not prove a nithing, and
meanwhile I cannot do better than watch such skilled warriors as you who now laugh at my youth."

Now, that showed that Wulnoth was wise, for had he answered angrily he would but have been laughed at the more,
and would have made many enemies, whereas now the soldiers said that he was modest and well-spoken, and they
taught him many things relating to war; and Cerdic his father, each day when the boy used to visit him, made him
exercise both with sword and spear, and in running and wrestling; and Prince Guthred would exercise with him, so that
he, too, might become a mighty champion in his day, and go to the wars with his friend.
But the Prince was not so cunning nor so strong as Wulnoth, and, moreover, he was more gentle and tender; and
sometimes the King his father would be angry, and say that he was more fitted to handle a distaff than to hurl a spear.
But the King was wrong—the boy was gentle and kind, but his heart was brave, and he was patient, more patient than
Wulnoth even, and he who has learnt patience has learnt a mighty lesson.
But in all this time no sign of the sea-kings was seen, though by day and night watch was kept, and all along the coast
the great beacons were piled ready for the lighting should the long ships of the pirates be sighted upon the waves.
And the King laughed, and said that surely Wyborga the Wise was wise no longer, for her stories, though they were ill-
omened, did not come true.
As for the skin of the wood-roamer, that was made into a foot rug for Edgiva, and the head and the paws were placed
in the King's hall, with a rude writing beneath, made by Reinbaldus the Scald, to tell how Wulnoth, the son of Cerdic,
slew the monster with his knife.
So the days passed away, and now Wulnoth was fifteen, and his little Princess was nigh five years old, and so beautiful
to gaze upon that the buds of the flowers would open as she passed, so that they might look at that which was more
beautiful than they were; and the wild birds would gather o'er her head, and sing their songs in honor of the fairest of
children; and already the jarls spoke to their young sons and bade them strive to excel in strength and in war, so that
when the time came for Edgiva to be given in marriage they might be amongst the mightiest who should strive for her
hand.
Now it chanced one day that Guthred the Prince, and his sister, and Wulnoth her watcher went together into the woods
nigh to the spot where they had met the bear—for they feared no bear now, nor yet the surliest of the wild boars—and
while they tarried in the woodland shade Wyborga the Wise came and greeted them, and asked how they fared. And
Edgiva went to her side and answered—
"O good mother, we fare well, but we have not yet heard the wonder tale, nor have we found the sign—the thorn-
covered cross—though we have looked long and searched far for it."
"The sign will come, and the tale will come, Princess—all in good time will it surely come," was the answer; and then
Wyborga gathered the three around her and told them of many things—of wonders from far lands, of the birds' talk and
the beasts' talk, and things that men know nothing of; and while they talked there came a blowing of horns, and the King
rode by on the chase, and reined his horse and spoke to the wise woman with kind, good humor.
"Greeting, Wyborga," he said. "Our watch fires are piled, but they are unlighted; our warders watch, but give no alarm;
our swords are keen, but they sing no song. Surely thy wisdom was at fault when thou didst prophesy evil for the land."
"Art thou so impatient for the evil to come, O King?" she answered sadly. "It will come sure, if it comes slow. God
moves not quickly."
"God?" answered the King lightly. "Why, Wyborga, we have many gods, of whom Odin and Thor are the mightiest—
which of them dost thou speak of? They move fast enough for me, for they ride the storm wind so swiftly that all the
storm sisters are left far behind in their path. Which god do you speak of, Wyborga?"
Then Wyborga stooped, and with the end of her wand which she used to aid her steps she marked on the ground, and
the marks that she made formed a cross.
"The God of this sign, O King," she said. And at that the King shook his head, and thought with pity that surely poor old
Wyborga was mad, for of all the gods of the Northland was there none whose sign was a cross.
"Now, good mother," he said aloud, "I understand not thy sign. Canst thou give me no other by which I shall know
when the time is near?"
Then Wyborga bent her head in thought, and was silent for a space, and after that she looked up and spoke, and said
to the King—
"So be it. I will give you one sign, and when you see that, then be sure that soon the sword shall sing the death song in
the land."
"Good!" cried the King. "Give me this sign."
Then Wyborga pointed to where Wulnoth stood near, and she said—
"This is the sign, O King. When this boy treads the birds' road, then be sure that the time has come." And at that the
King laughed aloud.
"Now, by my beard," he said, "if that were possible, then would I do well to slay Wulnoth, son of Cerdic, and so the
evil should never come. But no mortal foot has trodden the birds' road yet, and none ever shall, so let Wulnoth live, and
let the evil be far off; and now greeting, mother."
"Greeting, King," she answered, and Wulnoth and the Prince cried "Skoal" to the King, and Edgiva kissed her hand to

him, and so Hardacnute and his men rode on, laughing to themselves; for how could old Wyborga speak of any
treading the birds' road without wings? and where was there a man in the world winged like the eagle or raven?
And Wulnoth and the Prince and Edgiva went back to the hall, and they wondered also, pondering over the strange
things spoken by Wyborga the Wise.
And yet that which the wise woman spoke came to pass, and this was the manner of its coming. There was in the hall of
King Hardacnute a young noble of Denmark, a dark, black-haired young holda, who had journeyed across the
mountains seeking adventure, as he said, and had been well received and given an honorable place by the King, in spite
of the warnings of his jarls, and especially of old Hald.
"A viper stings sooner or later," said the Constable, "and a Dane plays false. Kill the stranger or send him on, for we
want no spying Haco here."
But the King answered that a man's hall must ever be open to the wanderer, and that it did not become brave men to be
inhospitable; and so this youth, whose name was Osbert, tarried in Lethra—a big, bragging young giant, and over fond
of the drink horn.
Now, one day, as Wulnoth stood guarding the couch of Edgiva, for she had fallen asleep in the shade of the courtyard,
lo, there came Osbert the Dane striding along, all flushed with wine. Now, Osbert looked upon Wulnoth with scorn,
because he was a boy and a thrall, and also because he knew that his father had smitten Berwulf with his own axe in the
hall of Tholk, son of Cerdic—for Osbert was of the blood of Berwulf.
Therefore, seeing Edgiva sleeping there and guarded by Wulnoth, Osbert thought to make mock of the boy, and he
strode up and seized Edgiva and kissed her, so that she cried out partly in fear and partly in anger at being so rudely
aroused; and Wulnoth started forward, and presented his spear, and cried fiercely—
"Set down the Lady Edgiva instantly, thou rude Dane, or I will pierce thee with this spear."
Then did Osbert place the Princess down, and he drew his heavy sword, and swung his shield from his back to his arm,
and he laughed right scornfully.
"Thou wilt pierce me, thou carl. That will we see," and with that he made at Wulnoth fiercely.
But Hald the Constable was nigh, and when he heard the signs of strife he seized his great sword and strode into the
courtyard, and struck the weapons apart, and demanded sternly how it came that any dared to fight in the courtyard of
the King.
"This dog insulted me," cried the Dane fiercely, "and for it, by Thor, he shall die!"
"By Thor, he shall not die!" answered Hald, "until we know the truth of this business; but, for that matter, thou mightest
find it hard to slay him, Dane."
So Wulnoth told how he came to have a quarrel with Osbert, and the brow of Hald grew dark when he heard of the
slight to Edgiva, who now stood weeping, and he commanded the Dane to be carried before Hardacnute, that the King
might say his pleasure.
And when the King heard, he said sternly—
"Osbert, stranger amongst us, hadst thou been one of my people, I would surely have had thy head smitten off. But thou
art a stranger, and one who has been my guest, and I may not do this thing. Yet this I will do. Thy arms shall be taken
from thee and broken as the arms of a nithing, and thou shalt be scourged with rods, a blow for every tear that the Lady
Edgiva has shed, and thou shalt be driven from my lands; and if thou comest here again, then thou shalt be slain."
And the King's word was obeyed, and the Dane's weapons were broken, and he was scourged with rods, a blow for
each tear th...